Confession
by Gemini14
Summary: Short story focusing mostly on Filia and Xellos after events in 'Promises'. A little mushy and OOC, but hopefully not too bad!


Confession

"Please? You said I could have it!" Lina said, for the thousandth time that day.

"The answer is still no." Ashram replied, deadpan in expression and monotone in voice.

"What would you need with a sword like SoulCrusher? I mean, your kingdom, Lodoss and Alacrast are all peaceful now!" Lina argued, as she looked hungrily after the demon sword. Without even deigning to answer, Ashram walked out of the room he'd been sitting in and into the next, in hopes of getting away from the slightly annoying Lina Inverse. It had just barely been a week since the battle with Tern the demon dragon, and wounds were just barely beginning to heal. Most of the warriors that had gone to Alacrast were still limping because of wounds attained during the battle. Ashram was no exception; in fact, some of his were among the worst. In fact, his wounds had rivaled those of Xellos in severity. Yet Ashram had the benefit of healers magic, while Xellos had to heal on his own. 

"ASHRAM! GET BACK HERE!" Lina screamed, infuriated. Ashram made himself scarce. Gourry sighed and shook his head; Lina was definitely back to being her old self. Meanwhile, Filia tended to Xellos. She didn't mind it as much as she thought she would have; Xellos was certainly an easier patient to deal with than Lina was!

"It sounds like Lina is at it again." Xellos said, with a slight smile.

"Yes. Poor King Ashram! Lina's set her sights on the SoulCrusher and now won't leave him alone. I hope Gourry doesn't feel too neglected." Filia said, with a giggle when she heard Lina stomp past the bedroom in her search for Ashram. 

"Nah, I don't think so. I sense that Gourry is satisfied enough." Xellos said, laughing when he saw the slightly embarrassed expression on Filia's face.

"You………….you don't mean that they…………….you perverted Namagomi!" Filia screeched, reaching for Mace-sama in her anger. Xellos dove under the sheets, knowing that he was still way too weak to teleport before Filia hit him. 

"I didn't mean that, Filia-chan!" Xellos shouted, from under the sheets.

"Then what did you mean?" Filia asked, stopping herself from striking the Mazoku.

"What I meant was that Gourry is satisfied knowing that Lina is already healed and ready for anything! I mean, the facts are simple enough to see; Lina's busy harassing someone already! That's what I meant, Filia-chan!" Xellos said, peeking out from under the sheets when he was sure it was safe. 

"Oh…………….I thought you meant something else! Gomene, Xellos!" Filia said, looking ashamed of herself. 

"Yare, yare, Filia-chan, I know you want to hit me, but you'll have to wait until after I have recovered from these wounds first!" Xellos said, jokingly, as he lay back down, sucking in a breath as he settled back. 

"I wish you could withstand healing magic. You'd probably be out of bed by now if you could!" Filia said, dejectedly. Even though she would have been too proud to admit it a month before, it hurt to see Xellos in so much pain. She could tell that every breath, every movement was torture to the wounded Mazoku. The fact that he was all alone now didn't help matters any. Because of Tern's revenge, Xellos was the last of his kind. His feelings of loss were reflected in his amethyst eyes, those of which he kept open more and more often now. She actually missed his closed eye smile.

"Filia, don't look at me like that." Xellos said, softly, when he'd noticed the sad look on Filia's face.

"What?" Filia asked, coming out of her depressed frame of mind when she heard him speak.

"You were looking at me as though I was about to die. I'm not as fragile as that, Filia. I won't leave this world quietly." Xellos said, as he took one of her hands in his and grasped it firmly. Without even wanting them to, tears came to Filia's eyes and she gently hugged Xellos. Needless to say, Xellos was shocked; he'd never expected to be held so gently by Filia!

"I was so afraid……………….when that monster took you………………I was afraid." Filia sobbed.

"You were? Why?" Xellos asked, as she drew back and faced him.

"When they took you……….It felt like my heart had been torn to shreds…………I was so certain that I wasn't going to make it in time to save you………….." Filia said, as tears cascaded down her face anew. Then an expression Filia had never seen before came across Xellos' face. He smiled gently, with warmth that seemed alien to his catlike Mazoku eyes and pale face. With a slow movement, he wiped her tears away and cupped the side of her face in one hand.

"I would not have given up, Filia-chan. For some reason other than the fact that Shiroi was there, I knew, deep down, that you were coming. I guess you would call that hope, wouldn't you?" Xellos said, his smile getting a touch of irony in it. 

"Yes. That's what I would call it." Filia said, then added, "I'm glad you decided to hang on."

"I am too. Otherwise, you wouldn't have anyone to argue with!" Xellos said, laughing, at least until Filia hit him lightly on the head with something.

"Ouch! What was that?!" Xellos asked, rubbing his head and looking at Filia accusingly.

"Mace-chan." Filia said, with a giggle, as she showed him the smaller version of Mace-sama. 

"Only you, Filia-chan, only you." Xellos muttered, sighing in exasperation and shaking his head.

"But of course!" Filia said, with a laugh, starting to leave his side.

"Where are you going?" Xellos asked.

"To get something to eat. Do you want anything?" Filia asked.

"Erm………….Is there anything sweet being baked downstairs?" Xellos asked, looking a little sheepish about asking. Filia sighed and put her hands on her hips.

"Xellos! If you eat any more sweets, you're going to get fat!" Filia scolded.

"Mazoku don't get fat." Xellos said, sulkily, wincing when he crossed his arms too hard across his chest. 

"Fine then. I'll go and see if I can get you some pastries. Would cinnamon be all right?" Filia asked, finally giving in.

"Hai. And some chocolate ones too. You might want to hurry, before Lina and Gourry get them all." Xellos said, with his trademark 'Trickster Priest' smile. 

"Will do. Be back in a few minutes." Filia said, as she disappeared out the door. With a sigh, Xellos allowed himself to slump into the pillows. Even though the pain wasn't as bad as it had been, it was still excruciatingly painful to sit up for any amount of time.

"Damn you, Tern." Xellos growled, under his breath. It was then that an unfamiliar man stepped into the room. He appeared to be only in his late thirties and he wore flowing golden robes. Yet, there was an air of familiarity about this man. 

"Who are you?" Xellos asked, as the stranger approached his bedside. 

"I am Mycen." The man replied. Xellos' jaw dropped; Mycen?! The mighty dragon Mycen?!

"Don't look so surprised, Xellos. You forget, I am also a Golden Dragon, so I also have the ability to shift into human form." Mycen said, chuckling when he saw Xellos' shell-shocked expression.

"Forgive me, Lord Mycen." Xellos said, respectfully.

"Don't worry, I do not take offense. It has been over two thousand years since I last took human form, so I don't expect you to have known about this. By comparison, you are very young to me." Mycen said, as he sat down in the chair Filia had vacated.

"Why don't you hate me? I thought all dragons hated the Mazoku!" Xellos said, with curiosity taking over. 

"I never learned to hate the Mazoku. My main job was to make sure that the demon dragons didn't go on a rampage. The Mazoku were the least of my worries." Mycen replied, looking up when Filia reentered the room. At first she was stunned by Mycen's appearance, but when he ushered her to sit down, he began telling them of what he'd hinted at in his lair. 

"Now, this story goes back to a time when things were in balance. Before the fall of Kastuul. In those long forgotten times, Ryuzoku, Mazoku, and the Ancient Dragons all coexisted. To be certain, there was tension even then, but there wasn't any fighting between the groups. Then Kastuul fell, and the world was plunged into chaos. In the midst of the confusion, Karla influenced the Golden Dragons, Ancients and Mazoku into killing off the demon dragons; dragons that had fallen to the darkness before that time. Then she influenced the Golden Dragons into committing genocide against their neighbors, the Ancients. In Karla's eyes, there was balance for about four centuries, then she influenced the Mazoku in the same way she'd done with the Golden Dragons. In her plan, Karla wanted there to be one survivor of each race. But now that Tern is dead, her 'balance' is thrown out of whack. Don't worry, though, she's in no shape to cause any more trouble, since her circlet is kept under lock and key in the temple of Marfa." Mycen said, seeing that he had their undivided attention while he told them of the sad tale that involved all of their races.

"So the Mazoku were nothing more than puppets to Karla?" Xellos asked, his voice hard and angry.

"Yes. All of the mystical races were Karla's puppets. Even humans have been used for her evil purposes. The most noteworthy are King Ashram and Sir Parn. Those two are the SwordBearers, men chosen by fate to carry the opposing swords SoulCrusher and SoulHealer." Mycen said, cringing when he heard a crash down the hall and a long string of expletives. 

"But we have only heard Parn call his sword the 'Holy Sword of Valis'. We've never even heard the name 'SoulHealer' until now." Filia said, with confusion evident on her face.

"Of course not. Since the swords are opposite in nature, they must have opposite names. I am the only one who still remembers the Holy Sword's true name." Mycen said, smiling when he saw a warm glance from Filia and saw the reason for it; Xellos had, against his will, fallen asleep.

"Mycen?" Filia asked.

"Hn?" Mycen replied, looking up at the younger Golden Dragon.

"Do you approve of my relationship with Xellos?" Filia asked. Mycen only smiled at her.

"Filia, you must follow your own heart. I have no say in what your heart tells you. Yes, he may have been the one who destroyed a good many Golden Dragons, but now he's suffered the same kind of loss you have. He needs you now, like you need him. He'll need your love and support in the days to come." Mycen said, as he stood and patted the younger dragon on the head. 

"Thank you, Lord Mycen." Filia said.

"You're welcome, Filia." Mycen said, as he quietly left. As she sat back down beside him, Filia felt peaceful, yet troubled, at the same time. It was then that she leaned over, kissed Xellos on the forehead and whispered, "I love you, Xellos." 

"_And I love you, Filia._" Xellos replied, telepathically. Filia smiled, feeling truly content for the first time in centuries.


End file.
